A dark, oily, leather driven Dominican maduro that backs up the strange Room101 attitude with real flavor, balance, and personality.

The Field Note

Room101 does not feel like a quiet old world cigar house.

Matt Booth’s brand has always leaned more toward personality, design, attitude, and controlled chaos. It is modern, artistic, strange, and very intentional about the image it puts forward. The name FARCE fits that world perfectly. It sounds sarcastic, theatrical, and slightly off center in a way that only Room101 can really pull off.

The Maduro version pushes that identity into a darker setting. Mexican San Andrés on the outside. Ecuadorian Sumatra underneath. Nicaraguan and U.S. filler tobaccos inside, including Pennsylvania tobacco and Connecticut Broadleaf.

On paper, that sounds like a cigar built for cocoa, earth, pepper, leather, coffee, dark sweetness, and some grit.

That is exactly what I wanted from it.

I did not want this to be another generic dark cigar. I wanted it to feel intentional. Room101 gives this cigar a strong identity before it is ever lit, so the smoke needed to have enough personality to match the name, the band, and the brand.

The question going in was simple.

Does the Room101 FARCE Maduro Robusto deliver the dark, design driven boutique character its name and presentation promise, or is the branding louder than the cigar itself?

The Lineup

Cigar: Room101 FARCE Maduro Robusto
Brand: Room101
Vitola: Robusto
Size: 5 x 50
Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés Maduro
Binder: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Filler: Nicaraguan tobacco, Pennsylvania tobacco, and Connecticut Broadleaf / U.S. tobaccos
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Tabacalera William Ventura
Blender / Owner: Matt Booth / Room101
Release Type: Regular production FARCE line extension
Price Paid: $12.99
Where Purchased: Cigars Direct
Rest Time: 9 weeks
Pairing: Water
Smoke Time: Not recorded
Body: Medium full
Strength: Medium
Would Buy Again: Yes
Keep Stocked: Probably
Box Worthy: I would need to sample more first
Overall Score: 9/10

Look & Feel

This was a strong looking cigar from the start.

The wrapper had a very toothy, dark, worn leather brown appearance. There was only a very light sheen of oil, but the texture gave it plenty of visual character. A couple larger veins showed up on the back side of the cigar, and the seams were visible, but tight.

The cap was nicely applied with a clean double cap. In the hand, the cigar felt firm and dense with no soft spots.

The presentation worked. The double band setup gave the cigar a boutique feel without making it look too polished or safe. The artwork has that strange Room101 look to it, and against the dark San Andrés wrapper, the whole thing felt very on brand.

I could not find a clear official explanation for the logo or artwork, so I am not going to force a meaning onto it. What matters here is that the look matched the personality of the cigar. It was bold, unusual, and a little theatrical without feeling cheap.

Visual Appeal: 8/10
Overall Presentation: 8.5/10

Cold Draw

The cold aroma gave me musty barnyard.

The cold draw brought semi sweet hay and raisin. Draw resistance was minimal. It was definitely on the open side, but not so open that I was worried about the cigar before lighting.

The pre light impression suggested mild spice and dark sweetness.

Going in, I expected this to be a medium to medium full maduro with cocoa, coffee, earth, red pepper, leather, and maybe some dried fruit sweetness. With San Andrés on the wrapper and U.S. tobaccos in the filler, I also expected some depth and grit.

First Light

The FARCE Maduro opened immediately with pepper, leather, and coffee.

There was also a very strong baking spice room note right out of the gate. That room note became one of the more memorable parts of the cigar. It gave the smoke this warm, darker aromatic quality that fit the whole mood of the night.

A semi sweet dark note showed up on the tip of the tongue and helped balance the early pepper and coffee bitterness. The profile was enjoyable right away, but it also started developing quickly enough to keep my attention.

The retrohale showed leather and pepper.

The draw was wide open, and the burn started a little wavy, but nothing needed a correction. Smoke output was not pouring smoke, but I had zero complaints.

The first ash came off flaky at about half an inch, but the cigar itself was smoking well.

I smoked this on the Fourth of July while watching fireworks from the back patio. We have dogs, and Vegas always sounds like a war zone on the Fourth, so we stay home and hang with them. That ended up being a perfect setting for this cigar. Dark, relaxed, flavorful, and a little loud in the background.

The cigar was coming along nicely.

The Middle Stretch

The middle stretch is where the cigar really started to separate itself.

The smoke became dense and oily. The profile built around spice, earth, leather, sweetness, dark chocolate, and pepper. It was all there. The baking spice room note stayed strong, and the complexity continued to build.

There may have even been a licorice note somewhere in the background.

This was clearly not just another maduro cigar.

The transition was not dramatic, but it was meaningful. The pepper pulled back, and the cigar moved into more creamy dark sweetness. The bitterness of the coffee note faded into something closer to chocolate. Earth and leather stayed underneath the profile, but the cigar became smoother and more balanced as it moved through the middle.

The retrohale shifted into leather and sweet hay.

Both bands came off without issue. Performance through the middle stretch was excellent.

Body sat around medium-full. Strength was still manageable and closer to medium.

The Last Inch

The last inch did not bring a huge transition, but it held together very well.

The sweetness mostly subsided, leaving dark chocolate, leather, baking spice, and a dash of pepper. The profile stayed enjoyable all the way down, and I smoked this one to the nub.

There was minimal heat and very little harshness. Strength stayed around medium.

A lot of darker cigars can get bitter, muddy, or hot near the end. This one never really went there. It stayed composed and enjoyable, even without a major final act.

That matters.

Burn & Build

Construction was excellent.

The draw had very little resistance and was more open than I usually prefer, but it never hurt the smoking experience.

The burn line was not razor sharp, but it caused zero problems. I never had to touch it up. I never had to relight it. The ash was flaky when it dropped, but it held well enough during the smoke.

Smoke output was perfect for the cigar.

Draw: Very little resistance
Burn Line: Not razor sharp, but zero issues
Ash: Flaky when ashed, but held well
Smoke Output: Perfect
Touch Ups: 0
Relights: 0
Construction Notes: Not one complaint

The Mood

This is an evening cigar.

I would put it after dinner, winding down the night, paired with your favorite bourbon or an evening coffee if that is your thing.

It has enough darkness, leather, spice, chocolate, and baking spice to feel like an end of day cigar without being too strong to enjoy casually. It is flavorful, but not punishing. Dark, but not flat. Boutique, but not weird just for the sake of being weird.

Best Time: Evening
Best Pairing: Bourbon or evening coffee
Best Setting: After dinner, winding down the evening, paired with a drink
Best For: Smokers who like darker Dominican cigars with spice, leather, chocolate, and boutique personality

Final Cut

The Room101 FARCE Maduro Robusto absolutely matched the branding.

This cigar had the dark profile I expected, but it did not feel generic. The San Andrés wrapper, U.S. tobacco components, and Dominican production came together in a way that gave the cigar grit, sweetness, spice, leather, chocolate, and balance.

The presentation promised something with character, and the cigar delivered.

It opened with pepper, leather, coffee, and baking spice. It moved into a creamier dark sweetness with chocolate, earth, spice, and leather. The final inch stayed enjoyable enough that I smoked it to the nub.

That says a lot.

This is one I would buy again. I would probably keep it stocked, but I would want to smoke a few more before calling it box worthy.

Final Score: 9/10
Would Buy Again: Yes
Keep Stocked: Probably
Box Worthy: I would need to sample more first
Did It Match The Branding And Story: Definitely

One Sentence Verdict: A highly enjoyable Dominican maduro with dark chocolate, leather, baking spice, and enough Room101 personality to back up the FARCE name.